Last year, Roll Call, a Capital Hill publication, published a story headlined "Daschle Hit On Tax Break; Wife Claims ‘Homestead’ Exemption'" noting the controversy over Tom and Linda Daschle applying for and receiving the "Homestead Deduction" for their $1.9 million home in Washington, DC. Excerpt from Roll Call:
Public records show that Daschle is in fact receiving the $30,000 tax deduction that reduces his property tax bill by a few hundred dollars annually as long as the property is the principal residence of the owner....Talon News, a conservative Web-based publication that first reported the charges last week, suggested in its story that Daschle “may not even qualify for the tax credit, since one of the requirements is that the property must be the owner’s primary residence.”
But both Daschle aides and a spokesman for Williams dismissed the charges as baseless, partisan attacks and said the South Dakota Democrat is in complete compliance with the law because his wife, Linda, qualifies for the tax break.
“The Daschles are most definitely entitled to the homestead deduction, just as I am,” Williams’ spokesman Tony Bullock said, adding that the notion that the tax break is somehow a targeted program for low-income households is erroneous.
“It’s available to all homeowners in the District, regardless of the value of their property or their level of income,” Bullock continued. “The reason the Daschles’ are entitled to it has everything to do with Mrs. Daschle and nothing to do with Mr. Daschle. She pays District income taxes, so she qualifies.”
The relevant statute for the "homestead deduction" in the District of Columbia code is 47-850 which provides in part:
(a) For purposes of levying the real property tax during a tax year, the Mayor shall deduct $38,000 from the estimated market value of real property which qualifies as a homestead. The deduction shall be apportioned equally between each installment during a tax year and shall not be carried forward or carried back.(b) To qualify the homestead and receive the deduction, the individual shall complete and file with the Mayor an application in a form prescribed by the Mayor. The individual shall certify, under penalty of perjury, the information provided on the application form and the application form shall be filed in the manner prescribed by the Mayor. The Mayor may require the individual to provide any information which the Mayor considers necessary, including all taxpayer identification numbers of the individual, any other owner, any person with legal or equitable title, and any person in the household of the individual. The Mayor may also require the individual, any other owner, any person with legal or equitable title, and any person in the household of the individual to supply information after the homestead has been granted to determine whether the real property remains a homestead and entitled to the deduction.
Section 47-849 of the DC code defines the terms "residence" and "homestead":
For purposes of §§ 47-850 through 47-850.04, the term:(1) "Residence" means the principal place of residence within the District of an individual, shareholder, or member, who is domiciled in the District.
(2) "Homestead" means:
(A) In the case of real property improved by a house or a condominium, an individual's residence that:
(i) Comprises a dwelling unit;
(ii) Is Class 1 Property, as defined in § 47-813, that contains not more than 5 dwelling units therein; and
(iii) Is owned in whole or in part by the individual.
(B) In the case of real property owned by a cooperative housing association that is Class 1 Property, as defined under § 47-813, a shareholder's or member's residence that:
(i) Comprises a dwelling unit; and
(ii) By reason of his ownership of stock or membership certificate, a proprietary lease, or other evidence of membership, is occupied by right by the shareholder or member.
Clearly, the only reason Senator Daschle qualified for the homestead deduction is because his "principal place of residence" is within the District, and he is "domiciled" there. Note too that the Roll Call story quotes a DC official as saying 98% of congressional members wouldn't qualify for the deduction.
Since Tom Daschle's principal place of residence is in DC, can he even legally vote in South Dakota? The relevant statute defining residency for voting purposes in South Dakota is SDCL 12-1-4, which reads:
Criteria for determining voting residence. For the purposes of this title, the term, residence, means the place in which a person has fixed his or her habitation and to which the person, whenever absent, intends to return.A person who has left home and gone into another state or territory or county of this state for a temporary purpose only has not changed his or her residence.
A person is considered to have gained a residence in any county or municipality of this state in which the person actually lives, if the person has no present intention of leaving.
If a person moves to another state, or to any of the other territories, with the intention of making it his or her permanent home, the person thereby loses residence in this state.
It would seem that since Daschle applied for and received the Homestead Deduction which requires him to declare that the district is his "primary residence," he has shown his intent of making DC his permanent home and has thereby lost his residency status in the state of South Dakota.
South Dakota Supreme Court caselaw has provided that "A residence is established by personal presence in a fixed and permanent abode, with the intent of remaining there." Appeal of Lawrence County (In re Forman), 21 N.W.2d 57, (1945). In re Forman has been cited by the United States Supreme Court as authority for the "classic two-part definition of residence [which] has been recognized as a minimum standard in a wide range of contexts time and time again." Martinez v. Bynum, 461 U.S. 321, 331 (1983). Senator Daschle has established a personal presence in a fixed and permanent abode, and clearly stated his intent to remain in his $1.9 million home in Washington, DC by applying for and receiving the District's "Homestead Deduction" which requires the District to be one's "primary" residence.
While there are unresolved questions about whether Senator Daschle can legally vote in South Dakota, cursory research shows that Senator Daschle has voted in South Dakota as recently as the special election in June of 2004. An Aberdeen American News article dated November 6, 2002, and headlined "Election workers report heavy voter turnout" shows a picture of Tom and Linda Daschle arriving to vote at an Aberdeen precinct.
Daschle has voted in South Dakota as recently as June. It would seem, from a legal standpoint, that he cannot legally vote in South Dakota in 2004 because of the purchase of a $1.9 million home in DC after which he promptly applied for and received the Homestead Deduction.
By the way, this story has never been reported by the Argus Leader. The AL only reports Roll Call stories that reflect negatively on John Thune. Tom Daschle gets a pass.
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